A word of warning. This species has pluses and minuses. I had to have it
because it has a relative in Israel. I have been fighting with a grove of these
planted on a rock for ten years. The plus is that the species is tough and
drought resistant. However, it is hard to winter over, and I have lost some for
unknown reasons. The plus there is that if you can find small replacements they
are easily added.
It is a very slow growing species and I only started making progress when I
started treating it as a subtropical. I leave it out in the fall until it drops
its leaves & goes to sleep. In December, I put it under the lights. Right now
it is in the sunporch, waiting to go outside when the nights go above freezing.
It is just now reaching the point where I would show it.
It is very very stubborn about budding back, and doesn't want to make branches
where you want them. Its growth habit is cranky and irregular. The compound
leaves are huge. I have just recently learned how to reduce them, but you have
to time it right for a show, because as soon as you let the tree alone, they
get big again. Its biggest plus for me is the beautiful fall coloring, which is
the subject of a parable in the Bible. However, it is grown in the trade from
seeds, so each one is on its own schedule. They turn red at different times in
the fall. They also sprout at different times in the spring. It is nerve
wracking each spring wondering if they all made it. However, now that I have
the sunporch, I have had less difficulty with half-hardy species.
One other complaint. Pistacia is very closely related to Sumac. When it is
pruned, P. chinensis gives off the same odor as staghorn sumac, which bothers
my allergies.
One of the problems with growing it on a rock is that the drying out between
waterings which the pistachio likes prevents success with moss, as does growing
it under lights in the winter. I experimented with various ground covers, &
presently I am using Lysimachia japonica ‘Minutissima’, a miniature
moneywort. This blooms occasionally & does fine with a periodic haircut.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

Just to let you know that I posted a Pistachio of Min Shuan Lo on the IBC
gallery. It is an incredible tree that I photographed at the show in Taipei
in 1999. The tree is even better in person and also won the JAL contest for
1999.
Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 3-4
http://www.bonsaihunk.8m.com/

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Thanks for the comments folks. I will persist with the 'experiment',
but by the sound of it, don't hold your breathe on news of the seed
germination ;-) It's approaching autumn now in Oz, so a few months in
the fridge and a few months in the seed tray is in accord with a
bonsai sense of time ;-)
Incidentally, it *is* spelt with no 'h' in the Latin genus,
but with an 'h' in the common name, yes? (This is what my casual
research points to ...)

Cheers

Rob

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++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++